The Southern Railway may not have been the most glamorous of the 'Big Four' companies that emerged from the grouping of 1923, but it was the great innovator. In the 1930s the Southern pioneered the first main-line electrification and created the largest electrified suburban railway network in the world. It was the first to have regular departures - so that passengers did not need to carry a timetable - and the first to run true international services, introducing the 'Night Ferry' through-trains from London to Paris using special ferries. This authoritative book provides highly detailed reference information about the Southern. AUTHOR: David Wragg has written many books on railway, aviation and defence subjects, including Wartime on the Railways, The Southern Railway Story, The LMS Story, the LNER Story and The GWR Story for The History Press. He has also written on these subjects for The Sunday Telegraph, The Spectator and The Scotsman. He lives near Edinburgh. SELLING POINTS: . Timed for the 70th anniversary of the end of the Big Four railway companies - 6 August 1947 saw Royal Assent to transport act that created British Rail . Recognised classic book on the subject by expert transport author David Wragg . With a new introduction . Now collect all four volumes 150 b/w illustrations